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97-Year Old Lady Handcuffed, Jailed for Unpaid
Traffic Ticket
April 29, 2004 - A 97-year old woman was arrested,
handcuffed (behind the back) and taken to jail in the upscale Highland
Park suburb of Dallas last week for having an outstanding warrant for
failing to pay a traffic ticket. Harriette Dolly Kelton was featured
on the Today Show this morning.
Police say they did nothing wrong just followed
the book. But one of her sons is questioning how the elderly woman was
treated. On the Today Show she appeared attractive, mentally sharp and
much younger than her age. Her son reported she lives alone, cooks her
own meals, goes out to lunch regularly and is involved in the community.
Mrs. Kelton says she does not blame the police for
arresting her but says they could have been more considerate. She is a
former school teacher who has lived in Highland Park for dozens of
years.
She was stopped for having an expired registration
and inspection sticker and a police check of her drivers license
revealed the outstanding ticket. Police held her for two hours before
her attorney appeared to have her released on her own recognizance.
Kelton's sons include a state district judge and a
plastic surgeon.
State District Judge David Kelton said it wouldn't
be appropriate for him to discuss the arrest. But Dr. Phil Kelton Junior
told The Dallas Morning News the family's real beef "is that no real
judgment was displayed or actually carried out in this incident."
Our real beef with this is that no real judgment
was displayed or actually carried out in this incident, said Keltons
son Dr. Phil Kelton Jr., a plastic reconstructive surgeon with Baylor
University Medical Center, to the Associated Press.
But police spokesman Detective Randy Millican told
the AP the officers had no choice but to arrest Keltons mother.
A warrant begins with the words You are hereby
commanded to arrest, Millican said. How do you decide who do you
arrest and who you dont? How about at age 90 but not at 91 and up? How
about between 17 and 20? |
